By Eshaan Joshi
What exactly causes us to suffocate? It’s a morbid question. It’s not one most of us enjoy thinking about, but it’s an important one. The answer is: the displacement of oxygen. The less oxygen we have in our body, the more we suffocate. Gasses capable of replacing that critical element can easily kill without our knowing it.
This is one of the reasons that carbon monoxide poisoning is so dangerous, and also the basis behind the State of Alabama’s newest execution method.
In normal conditions, suffocation is horrifying. Carbon dioxide (CO2) builds up, and as it enters our lungs, our bodies reject it, leading to the coughing, hacking, and writhing normally present during suffocation. Suffocation is normally an exceptionally painful way to go.
If that doesn’t sit right with you, Alabama is interested in an alternative. Nitrogen gas can replace CO2. It replaces the oxygen in our system just as easily but without the normal side effects of that replacement. Nitrogen hypoxia, the condition resulting from breathing large quantities of nitrogen, manages to fill our lungs and push out oxygen just the same, without the feeling of suffocating
This is due mostly to the fact that the feelings of suffocating are specifically tailored towards CO2 — our evolution is not designed for humans to be exposed to significant amounts of nitrogenous gas without oxygen included, and as such, it was not really considered too much of a problem. Comparatively, the waste product of CO2 was soundly rejected by organisms across the board.
Nitrogen hypoxia is an observed condition in rare cases where large quantities of the inert gas are available. However, it’s never been used as an execution method. That changes this year, as Alabama used it to kill 56-year-old Kenneth Smith. Smith had already survived one method of execution, lethal injection, in the past.
The entire affair was meant to be quick, but Smith suffered for several minutes, visibly resisting the effects of hypoxia. According to preliminary reports, he was holding his breath, which would’ve caused the CO2 buildup leading to the botched execution. Smith was conscious for a few minutes, struggling for his life, while convulsing and pulling against his restraints, until he finally passed out, and experienced regular breathing until death.
This was not at all what the Alabama prosecutor’s office had put in front of the judge for Smith, and the situation is currently being investigated. As a method of execution, this sheds serious light on the flaws behind nitrogen hypoxia. The method, as used, has been compared to cruel and unusual punishment and doesn’t seem to be much of an improvement from lethal injection.
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